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SHORT ITEM11/18/96 NEW YORK-- Time magazine agreed in early November to settle a lawsuit brought by a Church of Scientology…

Posted on November 18, 1996

SHORT ITEM

11/18/96

NEW YORK– Time magazine agreed in early November to settle a lawsuit brought by a Church of Scientology member who claimed that the magazine libeled him in an article about the church.

As part of the settlement, Time agreed to publish a statement in its Nov. 11 issue saying that the article was not intended to suggest that church member Michael Baybak was a ‘front’ for the Church of Scientology or that his actions violated any laws, according to various news reports.

Baybak filed the suit in federal District Court in New York after a May 1991 magazine cover story described the church as a “global racket,” and discussed Baybak’s activities on the Vancouver Stock Exchange in a separate item accompanying the main article. The article on Baybak also stated that the stock exchange was a source of funds for the church.

In July, a judge dismissed the last element of a separate libel suit brought by the church against Time Warner Inc. and the magazine involving the same article. The church is appealing the dismissal. (Baybak v. Time Warner)

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